Marley & Me DVDReview

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The world's worst puppy arrives on DVD.

By R.L. Shaffer

Based on the best-selling memoir by columnist John Grogan, Marley & Me recounts the author and his family's relationship with "the world's worst dog." When the film opens, journalist-spouses John (Owen Wilson) and Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) Grogan have begun a new life for themselves in Florida, working for competing newspapers. Jenny is clearly the more accomplished reporter, while John finds himself relegated to covering boring municipal issues.

It's not until John and Jenny get a dog that John finds his voice and success as a newspaperman. Jenny wants children and the reluctant John decides to test the waters by getting a puppy first. They adopt an adorable yellow Labrador, which John names Marley after reggae legend Bob Marley. He may have been a cute little pup, but the undisciplined and overindulged Marley soon turns into hell on paws.

Even after he grows up, Marley remains a wave of destruction, chewing through dry-wall, devouring sofa cushions, stealing food, swallowing jewelry, overturning garbage cans, chasing deliverymen. You name it. John recounts his dog's antics in his column, which becomes wildly popular and eventually leads to the book upon which the movie will be based. Marley's misbehavior, however, soon takes its toll on John and especially Jenny after they begin a family. Ultimately, though, the Grogan's come to realize just how much love and joy "the world's worst dog" has brought them over the years.

Marley & Me is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen on a single-layered DVD. The review copy IGN received was watermarked as a screener, which produces recurrent macroblocking; subsequently we will attempt to revisit this area when final copies are available for a proper critique. Beyond the compression issues, this transfer is marred by intense color saturation. Fleshtones are orange and colors are glazed with a hint of yellow. The print is free of blemishes, however, but the encode seems somewhat flattened with inconsistent black levels that fluctuate between night and day shots. This transfer is decent overall, but it could have been much, much better.

Score: 6 out of 10 (pending final evaluation)

Languages and Audio

Audio choices are English Dolby Digital 5.1, French and Spanish Dolby Surround with English and Spanish subtitles. As with most low-key Fox titles, this presentation is pretty front-heavy, but well designed and clean. Dialogue is never overpowered or tuned too low. Rear surround elements are mainly only used to balance the score and a few ambient effects that pop up from time to time. This is a decent mix overall that's fairly consistent with most animal-related pictures.

Starting out this relatively thin special edition is a collection of 19 deleted scenes with optional director commentary. I liked most of these scenes as they added much depth to the narrative, breathing more life into the characters. It's a shame we couldn't see some of the scenes available via an extended version of the film.

The next three featurettes are basically goofy EPK fluff, lightly examining the production, mostly focusing on casting Marley, working with the actors and training the various dogs. There's nothing here that's really explorative, but I did enjoy certain aspects of the casting process. "On the Set" is particularly goofy, aimed mostly at kids.

The next three features aren't really related to the film. The first is a quick PSA about adopting dogs. The next two features focus on Purina's "bad dog" contest, highlighting the finalists and the winners.

The last two features sink back into the production. The "gag reel" is entertaining, but a little too long. "When Not to Pee" is probably the best feature as it explores how one mistake (one of the dogs pees) got turned into a scene, exploring the various dogs and hours of training that went into making this short laugh work.

Capping off this special edition of sorts are trailers for other Fox films. Oddly, no trailer for Marley & Me is present.

Score: 6 out of 10

The Bottom Line

Marley & Me might have been advertised for the kids, but it's ultimately an adult-orientated drama that works because of two fine leads and a decent script. The DVD is pretty solid, though the features are a tad lightweight. The A/V presentation isn't top notch, but it suits the film well enough. Dog lovers should definitely give this disc a spin.